The Education and Science Select Committee lands in Dunedin tomorrow to hear oral submissions regarding the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill.
The committee is expected to hear from a sizeable list of submitters, overwhelmingly consisting of those in opposition to the bill.
OUSA President Harriet Geoghegan will present a submission on behalf of the Association, and the Otago Polytechnic Students’ Association will also make a submission. Mayor Peter Chin is expected to speak against the bill, as are UniQ Otago and OUSA Executive members Imogen Roth and Dan Stride.
In addition to submitting against the bill, Geoghegan will give a tour of OUSA facilities and services to Committee member and National MP for Tamaki, Allan Peachey. The tour will encompass a look at the services and support the organisation provides for students, as well as a look at the various assets managed by the association. An invitation to join the tour was extended to all the Select Committee members, but Peachey was the only one to accept.
The Select Committee had to extend the date by which it is to report back to Parliament after receiving a huge volume of submissions regarding the proposed bill. The vast majority of written submissions opposed the bill, and the number of oral submissions against is also expected to outweigh those in support by a substantial margin at every hearing.
The Circus Comes to Town.
